As complex software products are developed, the task of creating messages to respond to various events and conditions arising during the product's use is rarely given adequate time and attention. Instead, messages typically creep into the product's user interface as it's developed, without planning and review by product management, user assistance, development, test, or other disciplines having an interest in how user interface (UI) messages are presented to a user. As the product nears its ship date, there is an oftentimes frantic effort to find and clean up the product's UI messages prior to its release. This can result in UI messages that are unclear, inconsistent, and not helpful to users, leading to decreased customer satisfaction as well as an increased burden on customer support staff.
Furthermore, without central management of messages, the communication to a product's technical support staff of which event or condition led to a particular message is made significantly more difficult. For example, a product developed without adequate attention given to message management is typically more prone to gaps in messages to handle the various events and conditions as they arise. The gaps make product support much more challenging, again leading to decreased customer satisfaction.